Music Friday: "Fear Is the Mind Killer"

Jesse Welles is a great fellow to follow on TikTok. Recently he put out a satirical protest song about ICE agents. 

Here's "Fear Is the Mind Killer." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Per the article in The Washington Post, unemployment is up: "U.S. Unemployment Claims Rise to Pandemic High." 

President Adolf is Making America Unemployed Again. 

On the long drive back from Fort Morgan, Alabama, the mind wanders. So I got to thinking about old-school classic rock bands and artists. 

I've sometimes thought about if I had to pick only one band/artist out of these options, which one would I choose?

• Beatles
• The Who
• Rolling Stones
• Jimi Hendrix
• Led Zeppelin
• The Doors

I grew up listening to all of these bands/artists, and they undoubtedly influenced subsequent bands I followed as I ventured headlong into alternative rock in the 80s and 90s. 

Of those six, I think I've probably listened to The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix the most. 

It's a silly mental exercise, but if I had to pick one, I guess it would be Led Zeppelin. 

Speaking of which, there's a good documentary on Netflix titled Becoming Led Zeppelin. 

It's worth a viewing. 

Musing of the Moment: Celebrating Son Hueng-Min

Last night I watched this video of all of Son's goals for Tottenham. 

It's sad to see Son go to LAFC, but after ten years at the club, it sounds like he wanted a new challenge. 

I think he has at least of couple of solid years in him for the Premier League if he were to stick around. 

To my mind, I think he'll tear up the MLS because he got overplayed in this past season because of all of the injuries with Spurs. But he's going to Los Angeles, which has a huge Korean immigrant population. 

He's my favorite Spurs player. 

He stuck around and won a trophy for a club. 

COYS

Random Notes from a Crank

I haven't chimed in yet about the eventual cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but the fact he's getting his show taken away is ridiculous. 

He has the highest-rated late-night show on TV. 

Two days before he found out he was losing his show he criticized Paramount for caving to bribing Trump so they can get its media merger. 

Here's a comic that was in Saturday's Washington Post from Tom the Dancing Bug. 

I'm surprised Bezos is letting this cartoonist do his thing since he attended President Adolf's inauguration and is trying to limit the coverage of opinions in what was an esteemed paper. 

Meanwhile, Congress passed a budget that adds to the deficit/national debt and simply helps rich people and corporations. 

And Adolf's tariff's are unlikely, as the authors of "Trumps Global Tariffs 'Victory' May Well Come at a High Price," to do what he purports them to do: "But history tells us that his overarching aim - to return production and jobs to America - may meet with very limited success. And America's long-time trading partners, like Canada and the EU, could start looking to form economic and political connections that bypass what they no longer view as a reliable economic ally." 

Jobs aren't going to return to the U.S. because of these stupid tariffs. Our trading partners are going to find more stable countries to trade with. And prices for Americans are going to go up because of tariffs. 

I'm glad I bought a half of cow over a year ago because apparently beef prices are high as hell. 

And eggs haven't gone down.  

Music Friday: "South Texas Lawman"

I recently discovered that James McMurtry has a new album out titled The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy. 

I haven't listened to it thoroughly yet, but here's the second tune on the album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As I get older, I worry about how my brain is working. 

So when I got onto The Washington Post during our vacation here in Fort Morgan, Alabama, a couple of articles jumped out to me.

The first one is "Want to Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age? Science May Have a Recipe." 

It's pretty clear that the Mediterranean diet is something to aspire to. I get regular exercise walking the dog weather permitting, but I could also go back to using dumbbells. 

And in this dark time during the administration of President Adolf, "7 Short, Simple Science-based Ways to Add Joy to Your Life" is worth a read. 

The phrase "little earthquakes in the mind" reminded me of this song by Tori Amos. 

Being down here in the Deep South has reminded me about how so many southerners drive way too damn slowly.

Way too many drivers are camped out in the left lane and driving slowly and clogging up traffic. 

Music Friday: "War Pigs"

Ozzy Osbourne died recently. 

He's an icon of course, and I occasionally listen to the Ozzy channel on SiriusXM radio. I grew up in that era of hard rock/heavy metal. 

For me, I liked him best as the lead singer of Black Sabbath. 

So I present to you "War Pigs." 

Musing of the Moment: Golden Hami Melons

I shopped at Aldi the other day, and there was this melon I'd never seen. It's a Golden Hami melon. 

From my vantage point, it looks like a football-shaped cantaloupe. And I like melons. 

I cut it up this afternoon, and it's colored like a cantaloupe. However, it tastes more like a honeydew. 

It's like a cantaloupe and a honeydew got busy and had a baby. 

Music Friday: "Don't Stand So Close to Me"

Here's a classic tune from The Police. 

I cannot fathom how high school teachers hit on and sometimes sleep with their students. Disgusting. 

And yes, I know the song is based on Lolita by Nabokov. But still. 

Musing of the Moment: Bark Box Adjusting to Tariffs

 

We got my dog's bark box the other day, and this was the message we got because the toys and treats were not in a box. They came in a bag. 

My hope is that more companies make similar moves in regard to Moscow Don's tariffs to expose the stupidity of his economic policies. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The comic above makes a lot of sense. I got it from The Atheist Vanguard on FB. 

As inflation worsens, all signs point toward the U.S. economy suffering stagflation. Read all about in the article by The New York Times: "U.S. Inflation Accelerated in June as Trump's Tariffs Pushed Up Prices." 

And as reported in The Washington Post, the shaky economy and tariffs are seriously affecting the travel plans of Americans: "Americans Are Downsizing Their Summer Vacations." 

If you're interested in a bit of satire, surprisingly from USA Today, check out "I Saw the New Liberal Superman Movie and It Gave Me a Woke Mind Virus." 

Of all the things that the MAGA faithful should be mad about in regard to the doings of President Adolf, they're really concerned about the release of the Epstein files? 

Those are some bizarre priorities. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Blue Cheese Dressing

This recipe is simply a small variation on the recipe in The Joy of Cooking. 

I've had a patch of garlic chives in my garden for over a decade, so I added chives, and I used white wine vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. 

Ingredients

1 cup of mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's)

1/2 cup of sour cream

1-2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

2 tablespoons of chives

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 ounces of crumbled blue cheese

Process

Whisk together everything except the blue cheese in a mixing bowl. Fold in the blue cheese and move to some manner of dressing container. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Cajun Sausage and Veggies

I made up this dish with what I had lying around. I used my Blackstone griddle.

Ingredients

1 lb. of turkey kielbasa but into half moons 

1/2 head of cabbage

1 cup of cauliflower florets

1 cup of broccoli florets

1 small yellow onion, diced

Avocado oil 

Brickstone Cajun seasoning

Process

I put the griddle to medium heat and dumped all the ingredients, added some oil, and added seasoning. 

Cook it for a while, flip the ingredients from time to time, add oil and seasoning as you go, and it's done in about 20 minutes. 

Music Friday: "History of the Future"

I enjoy some good psychedelic rock. I finally got around to getting Freak Out! by the Mothers of Invention. 

And I realized I hadn't kept up with the newer releases from The Black Angels. 

Here's a tune from the band's 2022 album Wilderness of Mirrors. 

Music Friday: "Stop"

Since it's the Fourth of July, I thought I'd share a song that epitomizes American exceptionalism and arrogance.